Turn it down: A survey of Lansing's musical landscape

Working America’s Northeast coast on fishing boats as a deckhand, mate and captain, Gordon Bok learned many tunes, sea songs, stories, legends and ballads, some of which he’ll play Friday at The Ten Pound Fiddle. Bok’s dedication to preserving the heritage of the working waterman earned him an honorary doctorate from the Maine Maritime Academy. Visit www.gordonbok.com.

Root Doctor’s latest CD, “Change Our Ways,” was nominated for a Blues Music Award (formerly the WC Handy Awards) for Soul/Blues Album of the Year in 2007. For more information, visit www.rootdoctorband.com

Wormrot is a grindcore band from Singapore that’s created a buzz in the past few years. After forming in 2007 ,the band toured Indonesia in December 2008 and Europe in July 2009.

This Friday the band’s “Dirge Across America Tour” will stop at Mac’s Bar. In April 2010 after the re-release of “Abuse,” Wormrot’s debut album on Earache Records, the group embarked on another tour across Europe and the United States. The band will release a new full-length titled “Dirge” in May.

Opening the show at Mac’s is a roster of Michigan met al bands, including The Apostles (Grand Rapids), Ganon (Ferndale), Inhaling the Plague (Detroit) and Nosferatu Man (Marquette). For more information, visit www.facebook.com/wormrot.

The Flatliners (from Ontario) take the stage at Mac’s Bar this Saturday, along with local rockers The Cheap Girls, Apathy for an Enemy and Clear Blue Ska. Over the last five years The Flatliners have built up a dedicated following with a sound that mixes the endless fury of ‘90s skate-punk with hints of The Replacements and Hot Water Music.

After releasing the ska-punk-tinged “Destroy to Create” in 2005, the band evolved into a harsher sound with 2007’s “The Great Awake” (Fat Wreck Chords). The band later released the “Cynics” 7-inch in late 2009 and the “Monumental” 7-inch in September 2010, both on Fat Wreck Chords. For more information, visit www.theflatliners.com.

And for those keeping tabs on the Cheap Girls, the band just returned from yet another tour and is currently working on a third full-length album, although no release date has been announced.

George Worthmore and Kevin Nichols are set to play some mean licks Sunday at the Pump House. George Worthmore is a 20-year veteran of the New York rock scene and has spent the last two years wowing venues across the country (including the Pump House last year) with his amazing acoustic finger picking. His repertoire spans jazz, blues and ragtime.

Sharing the bill is Kevin Nichols, one of the top blues guitarists in Michigan.